


Placeholder

by lunarlychallenged



Category: Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 12:51:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15365079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarlychallenged/pseuds/lunarlychallenged
Summary: When the Mathletes have a falling out over whether or not to let Cady on the team, Marwan starts hanging out with you.





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You were not a member of the Mathletes, but they treated you like an honorary one. You were the person who made the ads for them when they had competitions or needed new members, which was always, so you spent a lot of time working alongside the boys.

You had a new poster idea to run by the team, so you walked in on the boys and Norbury having a tense conversation.

“We have to accept her,” Kevin said. “We need a fourth member, and a girl would make it a million times better. You know it, Marwan.”

“We don’t,” Marwan snapped back. “She’s the worst. I don’t want her on the team.”

You thought about interrupting, but you didn’t want to have any harsh eyes on you. You quietly walked to the front desk to drop the sample poster off. Norbury would find you to talk about it.

“Cady can hold her own, and she’s willing to put in the work,” Norbury said. “I won’t make you let her on the team, but you do need her.”

“She’s smart,” Tyler agreed. “She’d be a real asset -”

“More like a real ass,” Marwan interjected. “She’s just like Regina. I don’t want her on the team.”

The boys were still arguing when you got to the desk, quietly set the paper down, and promptly tripped over a desk when you turned to leave.

They looked at you, surprised. “Y/N,” Kevin said. He smiled, but it was tight. “What brings your gorgeous face around today?”

“A poster,” you said. You gave a shaky grin. “I dropped it off. I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Actually,” Norbury said cheerfully, “I’ll go. Y/N, how about you help the boys figure out what to do about Cady?”

“I’m not on the team.”

She came in close, murmuring her explanation so the guys wouldn’t hear. “Marwan doesn’t like her. We need to convince him that we need her, whether he likes it or not.”

You swallowed, nodding jerkily. Right. Convince Marwan that he’s wrong. It’s never happened before, but there’s a first time for everything.

“I think you should let her join,” you said. Kevin and Tyler nodded, but Marwan shook his head.

“Absolutely not.”

“Come on,” Kevin pleaded. “We can’t compete if we don’t have a bangin’ crew. Africa rounds us out.”

“We just need another body,” Marwan said dismissively. “We could get anybody. Y/N could join.”

You gave a bark of laughter before realizing he was serious. “Hard pass. I’d wreck everything.”

Marwan turned back to Kevin. “You guys are too desperate.”

“You were too, at the beginning of the year,” Kevin pointed out. 

“And now I have standards. The two of you are being stupid. Don’t trade your pride for a jacket.”

“It’s Cady or nothing,” Tyler said. He looked wounded, but there was still a flicker of hope on his face.

“Nothing,” Marwan replied. “If you bring Cady in, I’m out.” He stalked out of the room, leaving three surprised teenagers with nothing to say.

 

 

You were eating lunch in the computer lab, touching up parts of the poster that Norbury had notes for. When the door to the lab opened, you assumed that it would be a teacher or some nerd who wanted to play games online. You almost ruined the poster in your confusion when you saw it was Marwan.

“Hey, dude. What’s up?”

He shrugged. “I’m not eating with the guys today, and I heard you were eating in here.”

“Why aren’t you eating with Kevin and Tyler?” You couldn’t remember a day that they weren’t eating together. They were a team; Kevin G and the Power of Three.

He gave a grim smile. “They’re pissed that I’m quitting Mathletes. I’m pissed that they’re willing to ignore what a jerk Cady has been just so we can get jackets. We aren’t talking.”

“So you came to me?”

He shifted a little, uncomfortable. “I don’t have anybody else. I know you’ve been closer with Gnapoor, but I thought that we were cool enough -”

“You and I are good,” you interrupted. “No sweat.”

He smiled. “Thanks.”

You pushed a chair out for him, grinning back. You could always use new friends, and Marwan was better than most of your other options. “Sure thing.”

 

 

Marwan spread two paper towels out on the table so he could evenly split a box of puppy chow between the two of you.

“Marwan, I already told you that you don’t have to share your food with me.” Even as you said the words, your mouth started to water at the sight of it.

“Of course I don’t,” he said absently. His eyes narrows with concentration as he tried to perfectly split the bounty. “I don’t have to do anything. I want to share with you.” He triumphantly pushed your share over to you.”

“I don’t have anything to share,” you said regretfully. You felt like an elementary schooler, trying to trade lunches for something better.

He waved you off. “If I expected you to give me something, I would have said so.”

You laughed. “You’re so pushy.”

He put on his best Norbury voice. “Well, Y/N, I’m a pusher.”

“If you want to push some drugs my way, feel free.”

“It’s not actually powdered sugar on the puppy chow,” he confided. “It’s cocaine.”

“I dare you to snort it,” you said.

When the two of you left the lunch room, Marwan was still coughing periodically. His eyes were red rimmed, and there were still streaks of white under his nose. You had laughed until you cried, and though he tried to act angry, there was a perpetual pull of a smile on his face.

You tried to ignore the way Kevin and Tyler sent longing looks in your direction, but it sobered you up a little to think that while your life got a little lighter, theirs got a little darker.

 

 

Marwan was waiting by your locker when you got there in the morning.

“Hey,” you said slowly. You had expected everybody to make up after a day or two, but apparently not. “What’s up?”

“I’m just here to hang until the first bell,” he said innocently.

“Things still bad with the guys?”

“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t talked to them in a few days,” he said. Marwan was kind of a miracle. His life had fallen apart because of his own opinions, but he looked perfectly put together. “Can I keep hanging out with you? Not just for lunch. I didn’t realize how much you need to have allies in this school until I lost all of mine.”

“Dude,” you said incredulously. “We’ve been doing stuff together for days. I thought we were already hanging out.”

He ran a hand through his hair, though it was already perfectly pushed to the side. “I know, but it’s more than that. I used to hang out with them after school. Sometimes they would come over for dinner. We did everything together, and now that they aren’t around, I have nobody to do anything with. You’re really cool, so I was thinking we could actually do stuff together.”

You pretended to adjust the books in your arms so you could hide the small smile that threatened. “Yeah, I can be the placeholder for a while. That sounds okay.”

He brightened. “Awesome. Let’s go to the lunchroom. We can get chocolate milk.”

 

 

Marwan was almost like your shadow. You partnered up in classes together, ate lunch together, and apparently watched Game of Thrones together.

“I don’t know who any of these people are,” you whispered to him. You had never watched the show before, but he had looked so hopeful when he invited you over. You couldn’t say no.

He gave you slow, detailed descriptions of a lot of people with strange names. You decided Jon Snow was your favorite. He was the easiest to remember.

You leaned in a little closer. “Why is there so much sex?”

Marwan gave a slight smile, eyes glued to the screen. “If everybody was that good looking in real life, I’ll bet you’d be having sex all the time, too.”

“You’re kind of a perv,” you snorted. You reached into the bowl of popcorn he held in his lap. 

“Are you complaining?”

“No,” you sighed. He was funny and smart; two of your weaknesses. “You’re my favorite perv.”

He laughed, slinging a cheerful arm around your shoulder. “Thanks. Now shut up; Khaleesi is on screen.”

He left his arm around you, and you didn’t pull away.

 

 

When you closed your locker, you were surprised to see that the Mathlete with you wasn’t Marwan. “Kevin! What’s up?”

He gave you a sad smile. “How’s Marwan doing?”

You considered his question. He was great. Terrible. Fun to be around. Nothing like normal. “He misses you guys.”

“I miss him too,” Kevin sighed. “Do you think he’s, you know, softening?”

“Nope. He hates Cady as much as ever. He won’t come back if she’s there.”

“We need her,” Kevin said.

“I know.” You did, really. You were as suspicious of Cady as anybody was, but letting her on the team was not the same as being her friend. It was a truce, not a pact. 

“I need you to talk to him.”

“I know,” you repeated. “What should I say?”

Kevin smiled again, but it wasn’t as sad as before. “I’ve seen how he looks at you. I think he would rather hear your words than mine.”

 

 

When you knocked on Marwan’s door, his face was sober when he took in the look on your face. “Hey, Y/N. Did we have plans that I forgot about?”

“No,” you said. “We need to have a talk.”

“Those are the worst words in the English language,” he commented. He stepped outside and closed the door. “What do we need to talk about?”

“Take a seat,” you said solemnly.

“This is my porch,” he said with raised eyebrows.

“So sit on it.”

He sank into one of the deck chairs, keeping a cautious eye on the way you stood with your hands on your hips. “What do you want?”

That was a relief; he knew you weren’t there to hang out or apologize. You weren’t sure the conviction would have survived if he had been happy to see you. “I want you to apologize to the guys.”

“No,” he said firmly.

“They won’t apologize. Don’t you want to talk to them again?”

He frowned. “Not if it means that I have to take back what I said.”

“You didn’t mean what you said.”

He laughed out loud, and anger curdled in your stomach. He was never cruel to you, but his general disdain made you want to bare your teeth. “I meant it more than nearly anything else I’ve said.”

“You are such a know-it-all,” you snarled. 

“That’s only a bad thing when I’m wrong,” he snapped back. “I’m not wrong, so stop trying to make me feel bad.”

You threw your hands in the air, exasperated. “I don’t care if you’re right! Nobody cares how right you are, if you’re going to be a douche about it.”

His jaw was set, but his head ducked. “I’m not going to lie to make people feel better.”

“I’m not asking you to lie. I’m asking you to be a good friend by apologizing.”

When he looked up at you, he just looked sad. Not bitter, not angry. Sad. “It won’t help. They just want me to give in.”

“Why don’t you?”

“She’s another Regina,” Marwan said. “She acts nicer, but she isn’t. She does whatever it takes to get what she wants. She’s nice until it doesn’t help her anymore.”

Your brow furrowed. “Did she say something mean to you?”

“No, but that’s not the point. I know what people say about Mathletes, Y/N. We all do. If she joins, she’ll be just another person making fun of the club that causes social suicide.”

You crossed the porch and sat on the chair next to his. “What if she doesn’t? What if she has fun, and you guys win?”

He shrugged. “What if she doesn’t?”

“We won’t know until you’ve tried,” you said. “If you don’t try, none of you will get to compete. You’ll have lost your two best friends. I think it’s worth the risk.”

He sighed, leaning against the back of the chair. “Maybe.”

The two of you sat in silence, looking out at the street. ‘Maybe’ was the most you could ask for.

 

 

Two weeks later

 

You did not expect it to be Marwan ringing your doorbell, but you weren’t unhappy to see him. “Hey!”

He smiled. “Hi. Can we talk?”

“I thought we were hanging out tonight.” You stepped onto the porch nonetheless. 

“We are. I just wanted to talk to you without the guys here. I need to thank you.”

You gaped at him. “For what?”

“You were right about everything. Cady is nice. My friends welcomed me back. Everything worked out,” he said. 

“I was right,” you echoed. You beamed at him. “I’m going to make a plaque. I’ll engrave those words on my headstone.”

“Shut up,” he sighed. His lips were quirked up, as though he thought your joy was sweet instead of obnoxious. “I’ve said thank you. That’s it.”

You called after him when he stepped off the front steps. “Hold on. Was that it?”

“I literally just said that it was,” he said with a frown.

“No, I mean, was that the breakup?”

He went very still. “We weren’t dating.” His voice was low, as though saying it too loud would be painful.

“The platonic one,” you said. Something about the was he was looking at you made you feel very warm, so you looked away. “I was a placeholder, remember? Now that you’ve got the guys back, you won’t need me anymore.”

“Not the way things were,” he agreed. “But that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Your gaze shot to his face, shocked. “What?”

“You were never a placeholder,” he scoffed. “We’re all hanging out tonight, so why would I drop you now? Besides, I don’t hang out with you the way I hang out with Kevin and Tyler. What we have is different.”

“How’s it different?” Even as you asked the question, you thought of Marwan putting his arm around your shoulder while you watched TV. You thought of going to movies that he couldn’t geek out over. You thought of the way his mother watched you the one night you went to his house for dinner, a small smile on her face the entire while.

“It just is,” he said. It was his turn to avoid looking at you. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

You bit a lip, considering your options. Leave the topic be, maybe? That seemed like a bad idea, since Marwan had proved that he was great at avoiding things that made him unhappy. 

You reached out and grabbed his hand. “Does that explain it?”

He looked at you, surprised, but not unhappy. “Yeah,” he said. He shifted his hand so it was holding you back. When he grinned at you, it was relieved and excited. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

“Want to come inside? We can make popcorn,” you offered. 

“Sure.” The good cheer on his face grew with each second that passed. “I can stay until it’s time to go to Tyler’s, and I’ll drive you there.”

You led him inside, not bothering to let go of his hand as you did. You liked having something different with Marwan. You would make the most of it.


End file.
